Senior ISIS leader killed in US strike in Syria

A U.S. strike in Syria has killed a senior Islamic State leader responsible for planned attacks in Europe, U.S. Central Command revealed early Tuesday.  

The “unilateral” strike in northwest Syria, carried out Monday, killed Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, CENTCOM head Gen. Erik Kurilla said in the statement. 

The statement noted that al-Jabouri was a senior ISIS figure who “was responsible for planning ISIS attacks into Europe and developing the leadership” structure of ISIS in in Turkey.  

CENTCOM said no civilians were killed or injured in the strike. 

“ISIS continues to represent a threat to the region and beyond,” Kurilla said. “Though degraded, the group remains able to conduct operations within the region with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East.” 

He added that the death of al-Jabouri will temporarily disrupt ISIS’s ability to plot external attacks. 

The strike comes a little over a week after retaliatory U.S. airstrikes in Syria targeted Iran-backed militants, with eight fighters killed. 

It also follows a February helicopter raid with U.S. troops and Syrian Democratic Forces in the country that killed Hamza al-Homsi, considered another senior ISIS leader.